Oral Presentation: Assessing professional rapport: Systematically mapping evidence to inform the development and validation of a new measure

Title: Assessing professional rapport: Systematically mapping evidence to inform the  development and validation of a new measure.

Abstract: 

Professional use of rapport building skills are considered central to good investigative interview  practice, with practitioners and scholars in agreement that efforts to build rapport can facilitate cooperation and disclosure of information. However, there is little consensus in the scientific  literature relating to how to build or measure rapport, which has implications for training. The  current project focuses on measuring rapport in professional interactions. In Phase 1, a systematic  review was conducted to identify relevant studies that had tested a measure of rapport. Following  an initial screening process, 134 articles were identified, of which 53 had developed a new measure  of rapport, and 34 had modified an existing measure of rapport. Only 11 measures of rapport had  been validated. A Searchable Systematic Map was produced to illustrate key characteristics of the  published measures, sub-measures, and observational assessments of rapport. In Phase 2, items  within each measure of rapport were coded according to whether they related to the interviewer (i)  Paying attention, (ii) Building a relationship, (iii) Being approachable, (iv) Being professional, or  whether the item measured (v) Mutual rapport/connection. These categories were used to develop a new rapport measurement tool that is currently being validated in line with methodological  recommendations.